A vice director at the trade department in the southern province of Long An has been censured for various violations during his term of office at the provincial market management agency.

According to the punishment decision signed by provincial authorities on Monday, while at helm of the Market Management Bureau, Nguyen Van Minh had consulted his seniors to fire employees without just cause.

He also illegally assigned his wife to the position of the deputy chief of the bureau and let his subordinates gamble in Cambodia and abuse their power by borrowing money from locals.

In August, Minh received a warning from the province's Party Unit for the same violations.

Minh's subordinate, Nguyen Van Tam, was sacked from his post in August for gambling and having an affair with Tran Thuy Lieu, who is facing murder charges.

Lieu has been charged with killing her husband, Le Hoang Hung, a former journalist from Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) on January 19, in a high-profile case that has drawn a great deal of attention from the public.